I love snow. NOT the dirty kind that gets shoved to the side of the road by the snow plows but, the pristine white kind that drapes the trees, blankets the ground and glistens in the sunlight. So, after a week hiatus to travel back to South Carolina to visit my Mother who was recovering from shoulder surgery, I was excited to see the 14 inches of new snow that had fallen while I was gone.
At 9500ft elevation, away from city streets, the snow stays like a freshly iced wedding cake, pure white, smooth, virginal. That is, until you let the dogs out. But, fortunately there is more forest here than dogs so there is still a lot of untouched beauty to be seen.
New snow also brings with it some inconveniences and chores like having to dig out the firewood to heat the house, locating the car and unearthing it before going anywhere, sliding off the driveway into a snow bank not once but twice in a span of 100ft (ask the Hippygeek about that one) and having to shovel the roof so it doesn’t collapse.
Snow removal is a constant while living in the mountains of Colorado. It also requires immediate attention before the fluffy white stuff melts and refreezes into heavy icy stuff making the job that much harder. So, the whole family gets recruited to take part in the snow removal process and everything from brooms to tractors are needed to find the deck, uncover the driveway and provide a way to actually get down off the mountain.
But, once the chores are finished, there is nothing like a hike through the quiet of a snow covered forest and to see the scenery that inspired the invention of the snow globe. Not to mention the fresh powder on the ski mountain which the Lil’ Dude seems to think is great fun to ski through even if it gobbles him up.
Most people go ‘ugh!” when they here snow is on the way but not us, we cheer! The fun of skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sledding and the beauty of a fresh snowfall far outweigh the work involved. Of course, the fact that we don’t have to get up early to dig the cars out to go to school or work make snow a joyful event instead of a hassle. No matter ones age, a new snowfall brings out the child (or puppy) in all of us.
“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?” J.B. Priestley
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